{"id":10796,"date":"2025-11-19T09:58:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T15:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=10796"},"modified":"2025-11-19T09:58:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T15:58:52","slug":"scandalous-forgiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/scandalous-forgiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"Scandalous Forgiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prepare<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Since Luke 9:51, Jesus has had his face set toward Jerusalem, meaning he is moving intentionally toward the events of the cross and resurrection. Now, in Luke 23:33-43, Jesus has, in the understated language of Luke, been \u201ccrucified\u201d between two criminals. Below him, soldiers callously cast lots for his clothing. Religious leaders jeer and mock him. The Roman Empire taunts him and his fellow Jews by nailing a sign above his head: This is the King of the Jews.<\/p>\n

In the words of the prophet Isaiah: He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces, he was despised, and we held him of no account. (Isaiah 53:3; NRSV)<\/p>\n

But as Jesus hangs on that cross, innocent\u2014as one of the criminals recognizes\u2014Jesus\u2019s thoughts are not on himself. He doesn\u2019t cry out in anger. He doesn\u2019t curse his enemies or call down the wrath of God on them or even hold them accountable\u2014even though he has been unjustly nailed to that cross.<\/p>\n

True to his teachings about loving enemies and forgiving others, Jesus\u2019s first words from the cross are words of reckless grace: \u201cFather, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.\u201d (Luke 23:34; NRSV).<\/p>\n

Opening Exercise<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In groups of two, define forgiveness using FORGIVE as an acrostic. Bonus points if your acrostic is a 7-word sentence defining forgiveness.<\/p>\n

Text\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Read: Luke 23:33-43<\/a><\/p>\n

Scandalous Forgiveness<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In 2004, Mel Gibson released his film version of the crucifixion of Jesus: The Passion of the Christ. <\/em>The film covers the 12 hours from Jesus praying in the<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Isenheim Altarpiece (1512-16), by Matthias Gr\u00fcnewald<\/p><\/div>\n

Garden of Gethsemane to his final breath on the cross, with stops before Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate along the way. The film was masterfully shot, but, unlike the massively understated description of the crucifixion by the Gospel writers (i.e., \u201cthey crucified him\u201d), Gibson\u2019s film goes into gory detail. The violence depicted in the film earned the movie an R rating.<\/p>\n

Many Christians, though repelled by the graphic violence depicted of the cross, experienced a deeper understanding of what exactly Jesus went through for us. One pastor friend said that for her it was one of the most moving depictions of God\u2019s love she\u2019d ever experienced. Others condemned the film as violence porn. I tend to side here. But perhaps such criticism tends to miss Gibson\u2019s point. The violence of the cross is lost to us centuries later. The original writers didn\u2019t need to go into the details. Their readers had seen crucifixions. Maybe an argument can be made that we should at least have some understanding of the horror of the most defining moment in human history?<\/p>\n

But whether or not we should go into the gruesome details of crucifixion, the story of this particular cross is not primarily about the violence. The main story is about the victim of this violence, and his response to it.<\/p>\n

Others had been crucified like Jesus. Others have experienced horrific deaths for their causes. What makes this cross different is the one hanging on it: God, the Creator of the Universe; who created humans in God\u2019s Image; who became human in the person of Jesus (the Word became flesh, John 1:14); is nailed to that cross by those created in God\u2019s Image. Consider what the Lutheran theologian Gerhard Forde said:<\/p>\n

“Why could not God just up and forgive? Let\u2019s start there. If we look at the narrative about Jesus, the actual events themselves, the \u201cbrute facts\u201d as they have come down to us, the answer is quite simple. He did! Jesus came preaching repentance and forgiveness, declaring the bounty and mercy of his \u201cFather.\u201d The problem, however, is that we could not buy that. And so we killed him. And just so we are caught in the act. Every mouth is stopped once and for all. All the pious talk about yearning and desire for reconciliation and forgiveness, etc., all our complaint against God is simply shut up. He came to forgive and we killed him for it; we would not have it. It is as simple as that.”<\/em><\/p>\n

How does Jesus respond? Not by condemning us or judging us or calling down the wrath of God on us. Instead, Jesus says: Father, forgive them, because they don\u2019t know what they are doing! Father, don\u2019t hold this against them. Let it go. Release them from their actions. They think they know what they are up to, but they\u2019re clueless. They\u2019re lost. Set them free.<\/p>\n

God, in Jesus, meets violence with grace; anger with forgiveness; abuse of power with reconciliation. Always. And only. God, in the person of Jesus, meets you with that same reckless grace; that same audacious love; that same scandalous forgiveness.<\/p>\n

You are the one Jesus forgives. You are the one Jesus loves. You are the passion of the Christ.<\/p>\n

Reflection Questions:<\/strong><\/h4>\n